Safety-guard for street-cars



(No Model.) Y 2 sheets-sheet 1. G.' T. POSTER. SAFETY GUARD FOR STREET CARS.

Patented Feb. 6, 189.4.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' G. T. POS-TBR SAFETY GUARD EUR STREET GARS. Y

N0 514,121, Patented Feb. 6, 1894.

UNITED STATES APATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE FOSTER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

SAFETY-GUARDV FORSTREET-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,121, dated February 6, 1894.

Application filed May 6, 1893. Serial No.4'73,191. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE T. FOSTER, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Safety-Guards for StreetCars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the drawings accompanying this specification.

My improvement relates to safety guards having a net work in front of the car for catching and holding any object with which the car comes in contact on the track.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l. is a perspective View of the front end of astreet car with my improvement attached. Fig. 2. is a longitudinal section of one side of the guard frame.

- Fig. 3. is a perspective View of one of the traction rollers in front of the guard frame. Fig. 4. is a sectional View showing the sliding connection of the upper end of the guard frame with the car. Fig. 5. is a side elevation of one end of a car, showing the wheel guard and its attachments. Fig. 6. is an elevation of one end of the wheel guard.

A. indicates a street car of ordinary construction. B. is the net work in advance, and C. is the fender. The net work is made of wire, cord, or any other suitable material, and is attached to a frame constructed as folows.

D. is a cranked arm on each side, pivoted at its upper end t0 the car body at a, so as to turn freely and allow the outer end to rise and fall. At the outer end this cranked arm has a socket b, in which rests a shaft c supporting the fender and the roller which rests over the track. To the outside of the cranked arm is attached a bearing d, and to this bear ing are attached two rods f g. The rod f extends horizontally across and connects nthe two arms D. D., while the rod gis curved upward in concave form, and its upper end rests loosely in a slotted keeper h, said end having a shoulder i inside the keeper to prevent it from being drawn out. This allows the side piece of the frame to play freely up and` down. The network is attached to the rods g g, also the cross rod f, and if desired is extended forward and attached to the fender O.

The fender O. consists of a piece of rubber tubing similar in nature to a pneumatic tire, and is filled with compressed air, is hermetically sealed, and is suitably supported by a concave metallic back piece attached to the shafts c c. The ends preferably curve backward toward the car, as shown. It is attached to and carried by the shafts c c which enter the sockets b b of the cranked arms, and is forced forward by springs lc 7c located in the sockets back of the shafts, as shown in the sectional view Fig. 2., or by air cushions in the sockets. In its normal position the fender stands some distance in advance of the netting, but when it strikes an object on the track it yields, owing to the springs or air cushions, and breaks the shock. The fender being also made of soft material reduces the danger to the obiect struck.

In the rear of the fender and pivoted to the shafts c c, are rollers m 'm of greater diameter than the fender. Said rollers by striking down upon the track during the vibration of the car prevent the fender from coming in contact with the track at any time. The rollers may be made of any desired shape, also of any material suited to the purpose, rubber being preferable, as it prevents noise and shock. Fig. 1. shows a cylindrical roller and Fig. 3. an oval one.

By the use of a rubber or other fender of soft material in front, there is less liability of injury to the person struck, as the material will yield within itself, also yield backward by the spring action. The person struck by it will fall over and be caught by the netting.

The joint frame before described is spe cially adapted to the use of the spring fender, and' also to the rocking motion of the car. The crank arms D. D. by being jointed at their rear ends allow the car to rock Awithout raising the guard frame with it, and the upper ends of the curved rods gg also allowthe necessary play for the same purpose. That is, as the car raises the crank arms D D turn on the pivot ct, and the end of the rod g slides down in the slotted keeper h, and in the down motion the opposite eect takes place.

ICC

Under the car is pivoted a guard G, eX- tending crosswise of the same and standing in front of the wheels. In its normal position it is hung up and rests horizontally, as shown in full lines Fig. 5; but when released it drops to a vertical position, as shown in dotted lines, and then rests directly over the track. It is held up by pins p, or equivalent devices, and said pins are connected with the arms D.D.by chains or other connections rr. These pins and their connections may be either at the sides or in the center. In case the guard frame is turned up in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 5., the chains are straightened, the pins drawn out of their holding sockets and the guard then falls in front of the Wheels. When the guard is lowered it strikes the ordinary cross bar s of the truck which forms a stop. In order to throw the guard down quickly springs t t are used between it and the car body, as shown.

In case the pilot should strike a person on the track and should be raised so that the person passes under the car, the guard G will be sprung and fall down over the track in front of the wheels and prevent the wheels from running over him.

This invention is applicable notu only to street cars, but also other cars and to locomotives.

Having described my invention, I do not claim broadly a secondary catching apparatus behind the primary one; but

What I claim as new isn 1. In a safety guard for cars the combination of the cranked arms D. D. pivoted tothe car, the curved rods g g attached to said arms at one end, and connected with the slotted keepers h h at the other, the cross rod f connecting the arms, the net work attached to the frame, the pneumatic fender C. the shafts c c provided with rollers fm m, said shafts entering sockets of the arms, and the springs 7c 7c for forcing the't'ender forward, as herein shown and described.

2. The combination of the cranked arms D D, the curved rods g g, the cross rod f, the netting B attached to said rods, the fender C, and the supplementary guard consisting of the platform G, the springt pressing thereon, and the pins p and chains fr', connected with the arms D D, as shown and described and for the purpose specified.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. T. FOSTER. Witnesses:

R. F. OsGooD, GHAS. A. WIDENER. 

